The day I and my friend arrived to Riga we were almost at the end of our crazy journey that had brought us there in one week from Denmark, crossing Sweden, reaching Finland by 17 hour boat ride, getting to Helsinki where we didn’t find any accommodation, spending the day there and then sailing to Tallinn, in order to find some sleep and a hot shower.

A winter sweet view of Riga under the snow

From Tallinn we finally got a bus to Riga, the enchanting town who astonished me with its Medieval and artistic atmosphere.
In Tallinn a local called Eugeny had suggested us to look for Lido, in Riga, according to hmi it was the best place in town ever.

Lido in Italian is a sea shore, and on the way there we wonder what sea shore he meant as in Riga there is no sea at all. We even went to ask the local info Tourist office about it, and we were told this place was right in the middle of the city center.

Cats are the symbol of the town!

Imagine our face when, walking through the lovely downtown of this enchanting town, we found ourselves just in front of a restaurant called Lido! We couldn’t stop laughing, having wasted such a long time looking for a seashore that didn’t exist!!!
At that point, we couldn’t do anything else than accept Eugeny advise and eat there. And what a discovery! The place was indeed a great cheap spot where you could eat as much as you could of delicious meat and Latvian food.

We came back there to eat for our entire stay and even now, all the time we talk about our Baltic trip we always think about Eugeny and his super advise.
What great lesson we got that day: always listen and trust the locals! 🙂
Thi is the page I wrote down those days:

Riga streets colours

Riga, September 6th 2005

Riga is a town to be discovered slowly. It shamefully hides itself behind a gray aura that has the taste of the past, but once it reveals itself, Riga is astonishing.

Much more noisy than Tallinn, it’s full of music and happy and friendly people. I really liked Riga, even if for a couple of day I felt like out of the world, in a totally different dimension, far away from the Western life I am used to.

This journey has been hard and anomalous, but I really enjoyed because it was original.

The Baltic countries have been a new discovery, as before coming here I didn’t know anything about. It’s incredible as, in in the middle of the Russian empire, there was such a Medieval heart of splendour.

The colours I have seen will shine in my eyes for long time, at least until my next journey.

Old town, one of Riga symbol

The beautiful pictures you can see in this post are not mine, as I don’t have mine with me at the moment, they are at my home.
So for the occasion, I asked all of you for some special collaboration, and this is how I got to know the beautiful art works of Michelle and EGRA, shared in this page.

MICHELLE is a travel blogger currently living in London, where she updates us about her trips around the world and her discovery of such an amazing town in her blog www.bluenose.com.

EGRAare the initials of Elena and Alexander, an artistic couple living in St. Petersburgh, Russia, who are passionated about photography. You can follow their photo art on their page http://www.facebook.com/EGRAphoto

A night corner

By clicking on their photos on this post, you will be redirected to their works, for a better view of their talents.

Riga is a fantastic place, it is a place I would love to return to, there is just something about it! And what’s not to like about a town that seems to love cats so much!

As a side note Riga is only 25KM from the Baltic Sea, an easy 30 train ride and you will find yourself in Jurmala. Jurmala is unlike anywhere I have ever been, the houses are amazing and you will find a falling down beautiful old building next to a modern mansion. It’s really something else. http://bluenosegirl.com/jurmala/

Thanks Michelle!
And thanks again for your wonderful pictures.
Please feel free to share with us your 1st impressions of Jurmala or any other place that caught your attention and wonder in Europe.
It’s nice to see the world with the eyes of someone else!